The Originals 1.11 “Après Mois, Le Déluge”

While not really a mess, this episode was packed with so many role changes and reversals it was a little hard keeping up. Rebekah is pursuing her grrrl power agenda, while also staying (her version of) loyal to her family and plotting to “take” New Orleans away from Klaus and Marcel. You can excuse the myopia of all-powerful beings I suppose, seeing as there are probably plenty of other people who think New Orleans is theirs but who just don’t matter to the story.

Ever elegant Elijah has some hurt feelings to master this week, as potential paramour Hayley confesses (in her most doe-eyed manner) to rifling through his things last week and maybe starting a mini-apocalypse, oopsie. Which isn’t as painful as it need be, as Klaus (Klaus?) gives her the good advice that one thing Elijah has mastered in 1000 years is forgiveness. You just have to be sufficiently contrite, I imagine.

Klaus is a fount of surprises this week all on his lonesome, which is just odd. Because he’s not on his lonesome. He has Kieran hosting the ancestral wolf pack at the church, to whom he is bringing canned goods. He’s discussing things with his siblings. He’s willing to talk to the witches despite his annoyance with them. And while he’d just as soon kill Davina when her powers reach a crisis point, he realizes Marcel won’t allow that.

Poor Marcel. Davina throws him into walls multiple times, and he just gets right back up begging forgiveness. He does love her, he will protect her, he can’t apologize enough for manipulating her … she’s got too much going on to come around quickly, but eventually she’s completely 360, even willing to complete the Harvest if it will avert disaster. Which is very brave of the girl Rebekah (Rebekah?) calls a nice person.

What’s left? Lots of hokum with Sabine and Sophie, all about locator spells and dead witch’s bones and completing the Harvest. Which everyone consents to in a rare moment of harmony, making it even worse when the Reaping then fizzles out.

Or does it? Things end up in a strange new place with some revelations I won’t spoil and some new players who may just have the mojo to threaten Klaus at last. Pity that’s coming right at the moment when he’s being most reasonable, referring again to some very bad events that threatened the city in the 1920s and hugging it out with Marcel because, despite it all, he’s glad he’s not dead after all. It’s a father/son, sire/Renfield sort of thing more than slash, I think, but it’s really welcome to see Jeffrey Morgan play anything other than seething rage.